1. Field
Apparatuses and methods disclosed herein relate to an apparatus and method for manufacturing a heat exchanger, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for manufacturing a heat exchanger capable of continuously mass-producing the heat exchanger and providing the heat exchanger having excellent quality.
2. Description of the Related Art
An air conditioner refers to an apparatus that pleasantly maintains indoor air to be suitable for activity of human using a refrigeration cycle. The air conditioner may cool an indoor by a repeat operation of inhaling hot air of the indoor to perform a heat exchange for the inhaled hot air with a low temperature refrigerant and then discharging the heat-exchanged air to the indoor, or may heat the indoor by an opposite operation.
The air conditioner may cool or heat the indoor by the refrigeration cycle of forwardly or backwardly circulating a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator. The compressor provides a refrigerant of a gas state of high temperature and high pressure, and the condenser provides a refrigerant of a liquid state of room temperature and high pressure. The expansion value depressurizes the refrigerant of the liquid state of the room temperature and high pressure, and the evaporator vaporizes the depressurized refrigerant into a gas state of low temperature.
The air conditioner may be classified into a separate air conditioner in which an outdoor unit and an indoor unit are installed to be separated from each other, and an integral air conditioner in which the outdoor unit and the indoor unit are installed to be integral. In general, in the case of the separate air conditioner in which the outdoor unit and the indoor unit are installed to be separated from each other, the compressor and the condenser (an outdoor heat exchanger) are included in the outdoor unit, and the evaporator (an indoor heat exchanger) is included in the indoor unit. The refrigerant may circulate and flow in the outdoor unit and the indoor unit through a pipe connecting the outdoor unit and the indoor unit to each other.
The heat exchanger such as the condenser of the outdoor unit or the evaporator of the indoor unit includes a refrigerant pipe in which the refrigerant may flow. The refrigerant pipe has a plurality of fins mounted therein, thereby making it possible to improve heat exchange efficiency. A circular refrigerant pipe was used in a heat exchanger according to the related art, but a plate type of refrigerant pipe capable of reducing resistance applied when external air passes through the heat exchanger may also be recently used. This may be referred to as a plate-fin type of heat exchanger.
The heat exchange efficiency may be improved by mounting the plurality of fins on a plate in which a refrigerant channel is formed. The plate-fin type of heat exchanger according to the related art was manufactured by forming a groove or a hole into which the plate may be inserted in the fin, and inserting the plate into the groove or the hole in a state in which the plurality of fins are stacked. In order to make a contact between the fin and the plate good, a clad was applied before the plate is inserted into the groove or the hole. In this case, there are problems that it is difficult to insert the plate due to friction between the stacked fins and the plate, and the fins are modified or non-uniformly positioned in the case in which the plate is forcedly inserted into the groove or the hole.